Owners of motor vehicles that are used for business purposes are faced with a problem of making the most economical use of their vehicles. In accordance therewith, vehicle recording devices are useful for a variety of applications pertaining to both operator and vehicle communication and control. In regard to the vehicle operator, the vehicle recording device may be used to log and report such items as the operator's driving time, trip time, electronic vehicle controller faults and other operating information. In regard to the vehicle itself, the recording device may be used to record fuel efficiency on a trip-by-trip basis, engine operating parameters and other related information. This information may be subsequently analyzed by a vehicle technician or vehicle owner for maintenance purposes. Additionally, the information may be used in a business delivery environment by the operator's manager to optimize driver efficiency and performance, and to track deliveries made by the vehicle over a given period of time.
Prior art vehicle monitoring systems do not address the ever-changing environment within which the vehicle will be placed in service. For example, interstate/long haul applications vary dramatically versus local and two-lane highway driving. Most fleet owner/managers are interested in establishing performance criteria by which the vehicle operators driving technique can be evaluated and graded. Unfortunately, not every vehicle is operated in the same identical environment. Thus, a vehicle monitoring system which incorporates a configuration capability would enable the operator/manager to establish performance/operating limits so that when these limits are exceeded by the vehicle operator, a warning is issued to the operator that he is in excess of pre-established operating limits. Examples of such operating parameters include maximum vehicle speed and maximum idle time. In addition, certain security mechanisms must be built into a vehicle monitoring device to prevent tampering with the configurable operational characteristics of the device. Such a vehicle monitoring device is needed in order to encourage proper and safe vehicle operation as well as providing feedback to the owner/operator or manager regarding vehicle performance.